WONDERELLA
Wonderella, there are some who say you are a poor role model for young women and aspiring super heroines the world over. How do you respond to such criticism?

Wonderella: I’m a great role model! It’s everyone else who sucks. Have you *seen* Spawn? He looks like someone sprayed acid on his face and put it out with a goddamn backhoe. Plus, he’s Canadian. Next question.

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The writer and artist of Wonderella was kind enough to let me pepper him with annoying questions recently. Read on as we discuss the secrets of the universe as they relate to his webcomic. Part two of the interview, which features questions and answers from his characters, will follow soon.

CowboyAndy: Would you care to tell us about your background and how you
got into artistry, writing, and webcomicery?

Justin Pierce: I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, like most people in this dog-and-pony
show, I’d imagine. I’ve worked in graphic design for about eight years
now, and have been doing comics almost as long.

My first webcomic, Killroy and Tina, was nothing like Wonderella. It was a
longform serial comic and as such, it moved at a snail’s pace and the
payoff didn’t balance the effort, so I closed off the story as best I
could and ended it about a year ago. Looking back I’m glad I did so,
though I realize there are a few perturbed Killroy and Tina readers out
there.

(Read the article)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya series has more merchandise coming out than most people know what to do with. Towels? Check. Pillow cases? Check. Porno parodies? Got you covered.

For those of us you who aren’t as…adamant as the hardcore fans like me who has all those things, there are traditional items readily available, such as action figures. Japanese company Max Factory has launched a new line of figures known as figma, combining both a high number of articulation points as well as a high quality sculpt. The first in this new line of 5 inch figures is Yuki Nagato.

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Title: The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
Artist/Writer: Justin Pierce
Site: http://nonadventures.com
Updates: Saturdays
Rating: 9/10

Your planet was destroyed long ago, you have been given somewhat awesome powers by a vaguely Greco-Roman godhead, and there is a giant alien hypnotizing the populace of your city with spores. What do you do?

Any normal hero would send the creature back where it came from with a few bruises before making a witty remark or telling the reader to buy war bonds. Wonderella is not a normal hero, and would much rather spend her time watching sitcoms or playing “Hello Kitty the Home Version” than be bothered with dealing with threats from beyond and it couldn’t be any more entertaining.

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella by Justin Pierce is exactly what the title describes. The titular character faces fewer challenges from her archenemies, such as a clown with attention issues and a Nazi that’s a stone cold bitch, and more challenges from things like dating, awkward social situations, and catty comments. It’s a welcome change from a lot of the super hero humor readers are used to seeing and doesn’t focus on the usuals, like bizarre applications of super powers (Superman using his x-ray vision to look into the womens’ locker room? How droll!). In fact, Wonderella barely has any powers at all outside of enhanced strength and durability. She can’t even fly (though she can jump “hella high”), which is just one of many sources of bitterness for her.

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A month and a bit ago, Seven Seas was giving away books in exchange for reviews to various anime blogging personalities. I signed up on a whim, but didn’t expect much out of it, given I’ve been quite vocal about my displeasure with Seven Seas in the past. Yet, upon coming back from my spring break, I found a little book in my mailbox. Yes, I was one of the ten lucky, lucky men to get Ballad of a Shinigami. Reviews had to be in by March 31st. It is now April 12th. I was too busy watching Kodomo no Jikan DVD rips, sorry. Anyways, review time.

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Every once in a while when I get a Borders Rewards coupon, I find that none of the series I’m collecting have the next volume in stock. When that happens, I start browsing the shelves looking for shrinkwrapped yaoi.

And that’s what happened last weekend, when I picked up Ritsu Natsumizu’s Love Bus Stop. I had never heard of the author, but the cover illustration spoke to my fondness of salaryman yaoi, and the title was silly enough to catch my curiosity.
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To be honest, I was quite worried about watching Shuffle! again for the first time in almost three years. If you’re not already aware, I have something of an adamant fanaticism towards the franchise, but since the show’s conclusion back in early 2006, my passion for it has been kept alive through buying merch of questionable taste, playing the games with little knowledge of Japanese, and generally fanboying over it. Shuffle! Memories, a short recap of the show which aired in 2007 brought it all back to me in digest form, but I actually stopped watching that because I wasn’t a fan of how it was cut together. That, and I also called into question whether or not I still liked the series. Thankfully, upon completing this first disc, I can gladly say this show is just as wonderful as a I remember it being.

Story is, Rin Tsuchimi is the object of many a girl’s affection. His adoring childhood friend Kaede pampers him daily; his senior Asa teases him lovingly at every turn; the princesses of the World of Gods and World of Demons, Sia and Nerine, want to be his bride and a certain deadpan loli called Primula is inexplicably attached to him. In other words, he has quite the harem on his hands. These early episodes focus on introducing the cast, the world in which they inhabit and then they get started on fleshing out each girl one-by-one come episode three. It’s pretty standard harem/bishoujo game adaptation fare, but its beauty lies in the execution.

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We know you’ve been waiting patiently (yeah right) for the first episode of The Culture Junkies Podcast.

Well here it is, in all its unadulterated glory. We take no responsibilty for the content of this production.

 

 CJP 001: The Beginning... of the End [76:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (269)

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Bring Me Your Love
City And Colour
2008

Snicker inducing titles aside, Dallas Green’s second full length solo effort is a step up from his last foray away from the St. Catherines, Ontario harcore / screamo act, Alexisonfire.

Where as City and Colour’s first album largely revolved around acoustic guitar with some backup piano, Bring Me Your Love injects a lot more variety and texture into the songs, thanks to more instrumentation and some assistance from Gordon Downie (The Tragically Hip) and a few of the boys from Attack in Black.

The lyrics can be a bit sentimental and squishy at times but also poignant, like Body In A Box which chimes in with “it’s like a man’s best party only happens when he dies” in between muted organ and harmonica notes. The composition of the songs in general are strong and varied, but strangely feel a little lacking in portions. Dallas has a great voice to be sure, but it would have been nice to hear a bit more variety in the vocal section considering the people he’s collaborating with. Sleeping Sickness features Gordon Downie’s distinct vocals, and while I know this is Dallas’s show, it would have been nice to hear more of The Hip’s front man singing through. Likewise, I know all the Attack in Black crew can sing because they proved it on their last album (The Curve of the Earth), so it’s a little odd to not even hear a recognizable peep out of them. You can really hear their influence on The Girl, likely one of the most stand out songs on the album, but it’s hard to recognize without pulling out the CD booklet and looking at the credits. Maybe it’s a good thing that they blend in so well, but it just feels like there could have been more.

All things considered, it’s a solid album and while it doesn’t do anything astounding, Bring Me Your Love is definitely worth checking out.

Watch Waiting… from City and Colour’s Bring Me Your Love: